Royal Navy: UK can't mount Falklands level op for at least 10 years due to lack of ships, ex-RFA Captain says

Capt Simon Booth, who served in the RFA for 37 years, believes the fleet is currently undermanned and does not have enough ships. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is waiting for several new vessels to be built, including Type 26 frigates and Type 31 general purpose frigates, which are expected to come into service in the late 2020s and early 2030s.

During an interview discussing the state of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary amid recent strike action, Capt Booth told The News: “The number of escorts that the navy has got is woeful. We could not mount a Falklands style operation for another ten years at least, and that’s if they built everything they're thinking about building. We know the promises that are made to build a number of ships are rarely achieved. There should have been eight Type 45 destroyers, eight Mars tankers, five LSDAs, and all of those things add up.”

The 61-year-old, who captained Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels including RFA Cardigan Bay, said the government should look to prioritise what it spends its money on, but should also look at how they get value for money. Politicians have announced two major deals recently.

The first involves the Aukus programme and is expected to provide up to £500m of trade between the UK, USA and Australia on a yearly basis. Another deal with £850m is hoped to secure non-combat equipment for the Royal Navy and make sure ships have a heightened readiness at all times.

The new Labour government has promised to increase overall defence spending to 2.5 per cent, but only following a “strategic review”. No specific timeframe has been given so far as to when, or if, this spending increase will be approved.

Capt Booth, of Lincoln, said he saw a lack of financial care in defence procurement while working in the RFA. “Protecting the public purse is a phrase I used to hear a lot when I was in defence procurement, and it was the last thing those people were doing,” he added. “Protecting the public purse never entered into it, despite telling you everyday that that was what they were doing. There was a huge amount of wastage.”

The retired Captain said projects being pushed back can cause financial problems, with then-prime minister Tony Blair’s decision to delay the delivery of both Queen Elizabeth class carriers costing the taxpayer £650m. Some Royal Navy projects in 2023 were graded as amber in The Infrastructure and Projects Authority’s Annual report 2022-2023. The grading means that successful delivery of projects is feasible, but significant issues exist which require attention.

“The ability of the MoD to manage contracts and deliver on what they think they bought is pretty terrible,” Capt Booth said. The MoD said the Type 26 shipbuilding project remains on track and will be delivered on time to replace their Type 23 counterparts without causing a capability gap. A spokesperson added: “Our priority is to make Britain secure at home and strong abroad for decades to come. The Strategic Defence Review will examine the threats we face, the state of our Armed Forces, and identify the capabilities needed to meet those threats.”